Wrath of Ares
by Vulcanos
Summary: Perseus seeks his secret enemy, who has kidnapped his son in an effort to break the hero once and for all.
1. Chapter 1

Wrath of Ares

(I own nothing)

Perseus had come home from a long venture across the Aegean Sea to find his son Electyron missing. He was curious, and wondered if he had been sent on some great adventure, or taken one on his own to prove himself to his father. His wife, however, told him otherwise. Electyron had disappeared in the night about a week before, leaving no indication of who he was with or where he had gone. He went to his son's chambers on the first floor, to find chariot wheel marks and hoof prints leading up to the window, then away. There were no sandal imprints, however, and Perseus began to worry. What if his son had been kidnapped, stolen by some madman in a chariot? He bade the servants fetch his armor and sword, and bring it to his son's chambers at once. A breeze blew into the room, bringing up a faint smell he knew all too well; blood, suffering, and death. This cast into his mind a suspicion: Did a higher power, a minor god maybe, steal his son in the night? His wife recalled it had stormed gently that night, and she heard no chariots approach or depart. Just then, the servants came back with his battle garb, and he took it and told them to leave, and sent his fleetest of foot into the surrounding area to search for any signs of his son's whereabouts. He donned his armor and sword and set the shield into its place. He took his horse and set off for the nearby town of Argos to search for answers. He sought the Oracle of the city, and soon found it. He called upon Athena, wisest of the Olympians, to help him find Electyron. She spoke in a prophecy, the voice of the oracle gone entirely.

_The hatred of War shall ignite_

_An age-old, but deadly fight_

_The son of greatness, doomed to die_

_Away in a godly chariot shall fly_

_The father will search, he will seek_

_His old enemy, bringer of war and of chaos shall reek._

The oracle collapsed, the heavenly presence leaving her. Perseus knew then what had been done, and what he must do to gain his son back. He told himself that, if he must, he would scale Mount Olympus and bring his enemy Ares to his knees and leave with his child. And no force on earth, and only one in the heavens, could think of stopping him.


	2. Chapter 2

Perseus knew he couldn't take Ares alone, so he decided to get some help. Since Achilles' death in the Trojan War, his Myrmidon squad had been leaderless, but unified somewhat. He requested one last favor from Athena, and she granted it. She gave him the location of the Myrmidons through a vision. He thanked the goddess for her generous gift, and she left the Oracle, and the poor girl collapsed. He set off immediately for the lair of the slain Nemean lion, where the Myrmidons decided to make camp.

-Meanwhile, on Olympus-

Ares paced back and forth. His prisoner Electyron was asleep from a nasty blow to the head. He knew he would invoke the anger of the god of gods if he simply slew Perseus from here, so he decided to wake a few monsters to take care of him. "Now this will be fun to watch." Ares mused to himself, and drew a whistle crafted by Hephaestus to call whatever the user thought of or wake it, if the user so chose. Ares had acquired it through his normal violent means, and then blew the whistle long and loud. Just below the surface of the Earth far below, something began to stir.

-Back on Earth-

Perseus slowed down his horse, since he knew full well one must ride carefully and quietly through the swamps of Learnea. It was at this time that a fell cry akin to a roar came down on the wind. Perseus' horse bolted, throwing a surprised hero into the grass just off the path. His horse was not so lucky. A black, slimy, scaled head shot through the trees, literally through them, knocking them down, its orange, sleep-laden eyes now alight with hunger. It swallowed the fair steed in one gulp. The Learnean Hydra had awoken.

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	3. Chapter 3: The Hydra

The monster shook itself, and sent mud, muck and small creatures flying in all directions. It screeched, and Perseus was knocked flat by the soundwave. He looked up at it, and had to scramble onto the road to avoid being crushed by a chunk of swamp that fell from the monster. It exploded like wall under siege in a dirty, mucky mess, covering Perseus. This saved him, as the beast overlooked him initially, thinking him to be a chunk of swamp. This ruse didn't last long however, when he picked up his fallen shield and drew his sword, both glowing bright as if blessed by the gods. He turned to face the beast, a determined anger in his eyes.

One of the heads caught sight of this, and came screeching down at him, seeking to make him the main course for lunch with the speed akin to a lightning strike, but Perseus was ready. He knocked it senseless for a moment, the other heads too busy with eating forest creatures to really pay much attention. He then drove his sword into the heads one vulnerable place, an eye, and drove it until the edge protruded from the other eye. As he expected, the Hydra lifted that wounded head to avoid further damage to it, and Perseus held onto the hilt with his right hand and the blade, intertwined with his shield strap on his left arm. When it had reared fully, he withdrew his sword, now covered in blackish blood and goo, which left that head completely useless. While the other heads regrouped, he slid down the neck, and waited for them to notice him. They did, of course, and snapped down at him with frightening coordination. He dodged, parried, and counterattacked; this left one head missing a lower jaw, a second with one working eye, and the third remaining resembled a whipped slave. With a mighty heave, he turned the jaw teeth down. Then he pressed with all his might, driving its own jaw into the junction where all the heads first sprouted. Something crucial inside the beast was cut, and the heads went slack. Then the whole creature went limp, and crashed down clumsily into the swamp and forest again, dead.

He climbed off the beast, covered in Hydra blood and eye goo. He remembered his horse, along with all of his provisions, had been eaten by the Hydra. He sighed, and set forth, when he caught sight of something in one of its mouths. He looked, and somehow his pack, with everything he needed, all his food and other essentials unscathed somehow inside it. He thanked Zeus for his good fortune, and after dislodging it, carried on.

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	4. Chapter 4

With the Hydra defeated, Perseus set out for the Nemean Plain. Little did he know, his troubles were only just beginning. on the way, he fortunately had so far not encountered any noteworthy monsters. He came to the edge of the plain, and was greeted by an all too familiar smell: death. He scanned the field, and saw a hulking warrior standing atop a rock, menacingly brandishing a massive ax at the Myrmidons. The figure saw him and disappeared with a small poof, leaving the stench of battle behind.

This left one conclusion: Ares knew he was trying to recruit them, and was attempting to dissuade them from his cause. He approached one of them, whose crested helm signified his leadership of the group. three of them lay dead, brutal ax gashes mutilating the toned bodies of the dead. The leader looked up, anger in his eyes. "You brought this upon us! You caused these brave men to die. And now, you will join them." The remainder of the Myrmidons drew weapons and charged him from all sides. Perseus disposed of most of them easily. Then he found one odd tick:No matter where his blade struck true on his opponent, nothing happened. He struck from every angle he could reach, yet the captain stood unscathed.

The captain aimed for Perseus' head with a swing strong enough to fell a tree, but missed. The captain laughed. "ahahaha! You have no hope against me, Perseus. i am all but immortal! when our leader told of his secret to greatness, we were all eager to try. I was the only one among us here that had the guts to go through with it. But my spot is different than Achilles' was. You'll never reach it. Surrender Perseus, for you are beaten!" Perseus said nothing while the captain attacked and spoke, simply struck wherever he could, hoping to hit the "magic" spot that would render his foe powerless. He knew for sure he was in for a long, hard fight. For the first time, he considered the possibility of death.


End file.
